Needed
by The-Other-Ghostwriter
Summary: Jiraiya finds a beaten and broken Naruto. Naruto finds what he always needed.


**Little short crapfic. This is what happens when I get bored. Mmmyep. Yaoi. Enjoy.**

Jiraiya was bored. Really bored. After coming back with Naruto after two and a half years and then retrieving him from Akatsuki—_twice_—and nearly loosing him both times, nothing really compared and he was bored. He had a feeling Naruto was bored, too. Poor kid, after the second kidnapping (the result of him not following Tsunade's orders to rest after the _first_ attack), he was put on supervised probation. As in, no leaving the village. As in, every time he left the house, he had to be followed. As in, Jiraiya thanked what ever god gave a damn he wasn't Naruto.

But all things aside, he also felt really sorry for the kid. Hell, Naruto couldn't even go out for a bowl of ramen without having someone eyeing holes into his back while eating. It must be hard for him.

Oh well. Jiraiya yawned, stretched, and sat up. The sun was going down, and the hot springs were sure to be empty now. Hoo—ray.

"Now I remember why I love hot springs," Jiraiya said to himself, sighing deeply and leaning back against a warm rock. He withheld a snort of laughter, remembering how Naruto always commented on how every trip to a hot springs was like the first time for Jiraiya. Said comment was usually followed by Jiraiya grabbing his leg and holding him under the water just until either the bubbles stopped or he got kicked in the crotch.

Just as he was going into his zen-almost-asleep state, he heard a soft sound from behind the fence separating the hot springs from everything else. He strained his ears, but didn't hear anything. 'I gotta take a vacation', he thought, sinking back into the water. It wasn't five seconds later did he hear the sound again, only it was just a little louder this time. Jiraiya sat up straight now. Was someone spying on him? (author falls to ground from irony poisoning) The noise was coming from the other side of the fence just behind him.

Zen-happy feeling gone, Jiraiya grumbled and got up. He was going to find whoever it was and kick their ass for disturbing his peaceful evening. He threw on his clothes—ignoring the fact that he was wet—and hopped up to the fence to look over it.

"…………" Whatever he expected, it wasn't this. What he saw made him jump right over the fence and kneel down. "Naruto, what happened!?"

Sure enough, it was Naruto, lying slumped under a tree next to the fence with tears running down his face. He had bruises all over his arms, a large one on his forehead, which was sans the headband, and a huge gash on his right cheek that looked as though it were made with a kunai. Quagulating blood was dripping from his mouth, which was twitching with pain from trying not to cry.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya quickly but carefully picked Naruto into his arms and stood up. "Gods, what happened?" Naruto whimpered in reply and clutched Jiraiya's shirt front. Jiraiya knew this was bad. Someone had to have been powerful to do something like this to Naruto. Could it be Akatsuki…?

No. If so, they'd still be after him. This was an inside job. Right now, Naruto needed help.

"Hold on, Naruto," Jiraiya said, breaking into a run. "We'll be at the hospital soon." As soon as he said that, Naruto began to freak.

"N-N-NO!" he choked, thrashing about. Jiraiya stopped running.

"What?" Naruto looked up at him with desperate eyes and gripped his front tighter.

"P-please…" Naruto spat some blood out. "Please…just t-t-take me h-home…"

Jiraiya stared at him, surprised. "Naruto, I don't think you know how bad you look right now," he said, picking up speed again. "You need medical attention and—."

"_Just take me home_!" Naruto howled, hitting Jiraiya weakly in the chest. Jiraiya stopped again as Naruto began to cry. One of Naruto's minor cuts on his lip healed before his eyes. Maybe Naruto would be better off…..What was he saying? That gash on his cheek wasn't going to heal overnight, that was for sure. Two—three days, tops. But Naruto was desperate in telling him to just take him home. And by the looks of it, Naruto didn't need anything to upset him more.

"…Alright, Naruto," Jiraiya said, turning around. "I'll take you home." He was at Naruto's apartment window in moments. As usual, the window was open. Jiraiya slipped in and shut it behind him and closed the curtains. "We're home," he said softly, only to find Naruto had passed out. Jiraiya cursed silently to himself.

"For the love of…pssh…" He slowly and carefully began to take off Naruto's jacket, and hissed through his teeth at the cuts and bruises he found under it. "What the hell happened to you, Naruto?" he murmured. He tossed the dirty, bloody jacket to a corner of the room and unbuttoned Naruto's pants to see if his waist looked as bad as his chest. He found the seal flickering in and out of view almost unnoticeably, a good sign that Naruto was healing. He slid the pants off and saw Naruto's legs were badly bruised, and his left calf looked like it had been pierced with several shuriken.

"…What happened…?" he muttered again, getting madder with every wound he saw. "Who did this to you?" He picked his protégé back up and carried him to the bathroom. He held Naruto tenderly with one arm and ran some water with the other. Naruto remained asleep, his head leaning pitifully against Jiraiya's chest. When there was an adequate amount of water in the tub, Jiraiya gently stripped Naruto of his undershorts and sat him in the warm water. He rolled up his sleeves and gently rinsed Naruto's body clean. Well, cleaner. Naruto's hair was tough, but he managed to at least get the blood out of it.

When Jiraiya was satisfied, he lifted Naruto out and wrapped him in the only clean towel in the house and carried him back into the bedroom. After putting Naruto in the bed under the covers, he found some antibacterial and cloth to clean and cover the gash, which was just beginning to scab. After all was said and done, Jiraiya sat back on the edge of Naruto's bed and looked at him.

'When did I get to caring so much?' he thought to himself. 'When did he mean so much to me?' Naruto shifted in his sleep and a tear fell from his eye. Without thinking, Jiraiya reached over and wiped it away. That tear didn't stop there; within seconds, more fell until he was sobbing in his sleep. Jiraiya froze, not knowing what the hell to do. He vaguely noticed Naruto's hand was clenching and unclenching—shifting slightly, as if to find something at his side. It settled on a piece of Jiraiya's over-vest and grabbed it for dear life.

"….Please……."

Jiraiya froze again when he heard Naruto whimpering in his sleep. Naruto' head lolled to the side and his breath hitched. "…Please….don't…leave me……"

Jiraiya did the only thing he could think of. He picked Naruto up and held him. Naruto whimpered again and clutched the front of his sensei's shirt, and Jiraiya held him tighter and began to rock him back and forth. Little by little, Naruto's sobs softened into silent tears until he was just hiccoughing every few moments. His grip on Jiraiya's front loosened and his hand fell into his lap.

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief. This wasn't exactly his forte, but it seemed effective nonetheless. He leaned forward to lay Naruto down on his bed, but his student remained attached to him. Jiraiya blinked. Then groaned. Crap. This was not in the 'plan-o-calm-Naruto-down'. At least not _his_plan.

"Alright, Naruto," he said, mostly to himself. "_Don't_ let go." He leaned against the windowsill and made himself comfortable. Naruto shifted in his arms and snuggled into his chest. "Lie still, kid!" Jiraiya whispered harshly. Naruto surprisingly did just that, and Jiraiya closed his eyes for what he knew was to be an uncomfortable sleep.

Halfway through the night, Naruto woke to a sharp sting on his cheek, but other than that, he was very….warm. And there was a steady, comforting rhythm pulsing against his head. Naruto opened his eyes to see a dark red piece of clothing pressed against his uninjured cheek, illuminated by the moonlight streaming through his window. His eyes shifted upward and blinked when he saw the sleeping face of his sensei.

It took Naruto a moment to realize Jiraiya had both arms securely around him, holding him like a baby. Jiraiya's heartbeat was gently thumping against his head in a lulling rhythm, and Naruto couldn't help but lean into it. Something in his own chest swelled with an odd emotion—somewhat familiar, but……greater. More so. Better.

Not wanting to jinx this moment, Naruto snuggled into his sensei's chest once more and let tears of momentary happiness fall down his face. Soon, though, his tears formed nearly silent sobs that shook his body and he found he couldn't control it. He was torn between the intimate moment and the fact that he may never have it again. It swelled his heart and hurt it at the same time, and it was tearing him to itty bitty pieces.

A hand on his damp face made him start and look up into the eyes of his concerned and newly awakened teacher. There was a moment of silence between the two, then Naruto shot up and wrapped both arms around Jiraiya's neck, ignoring the throb of muscle pain in them. Jiraiya froze, then gently but securely held his student close and just let Naruto cry into his shoulder. He soothingly rubbed his hands over Naruto's back, being careful to avoid the bruised areas.

"I'm here, Naruto…" Jiraiya said reassuringly. "….They wont hurt you again. I promise." Naruto only sobbed harder in reply.

"Don't……" he blubbered, his voice muffled by Jiraiya's shoulder. "Don't promise something….like that…" He gripped Jiraiya's vest so tightly his knuckles went from tan to white. Jiraiya looked down at him in question. Naruto opened his eyes to reveal deep wet pools of sorrow. "Don't m-make a promise you cant keep…..please…"

Jiraiya's arms stiffened. "What do you mean, 'don't make a promise I cant keep'?" he demanded. "What makes you think I wont make sure this wont happen again?"

"_Because there'll always be someone in this goddamn village who will want to hurt me_!!!" Naruto cried out, his fist hitting Jiraiya's chest, albeit weakly. "No one will be able to protect me," he continued, softer this time and putting his hand apologetically on the spot where he hit his sensei's chest. "That's why…" He took a shuddery breath. "That's why I have to take care of my self. Because no one else will…" His breathing hitched and he clenched his eyes shut to will his tears away.

Jiraiya felt a piece of his heart snap in two as he watched one of the strongest and hard-willed people he knew break into pieces before his eyes. He never knew that the kid who did the nearly impossible could be so fragile inside. It really was true; no matter how trained a person was on the outside, the inside was always vulnerable. Give Naruto another two days and all his wounds would be gone. Give Naruto a lifetime, and he would still be torn to bloody, unrecognizable ribbons inside; unhealable and unreachable with his outer fortress.

Naruto opened his eyes when he felt something fall on his bare shoulder. He pulled back to see Jiraiya's eyes full of tears. Another one fell down his face as he stared at Naruto with his hard gaze. "You stupid boy," Jiraiya said through his teeth. "You incredibly stupid boy! Don't you _ever_ say no one will take care of you! Ever! Can't you see that _I'm_ taking care of you!?" He used the heel of his hand to wipe his wet eyes dry. "Do you really think so low of yourself to figure no one would want to take care of you?" he asked softly. "Well choke on this—if no one else will take care of you, then _I_ will. Shit on everyone else."

Naruto gaped at Jiraiya with freshly watery eyes for a moment, then used his own fingers to wipe Jiraiya's tears from his eyes and trace the redness down his cheek. Jiraiya was still at the unfamiliar gesture from his student. "Naruto…?" Naruto didn't respond; instead, he ghosted his finger from the red streak to Jiraiya's lips. "…Naruto…?"

"Why do you care for this 'stupid boy' so much?" Naruto asked softly, still gently caressing Jiraiya's face with his fingers. "Why, if this 'stupid boy' has no talent and is so troublesome, do you care so much?"

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's hands and held them in his own. They felt so small in his own; like everything else in comparison with his student. The kid was almost a foot shorter than him, despite his age, and really skinny, despite how much he ate. Every time Jiraiya had to pick him up or support him after a rough day, Naruto felt like a child in his arms. But not before tonight—right now—did Naruto feel fragile. Even Naruto's fingers on his face felt like they would snap like winter grass if he squeezed too hard.

"I wont break, Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto said, as though he had read Jiraiya's mind. "And if I do, then I'll be put back together the next day." He leaned his head against Jiraiya's shoulder. "But thank you for holding me, anyway." He nuzzled into Jiraiya's neck and rubbed Jiraiya's chest through his clothes. Jiraiya was torn between throwing his student off of him and leaping out the window, and holding the small, needy body to his own protective one. Jiraiya chose the latter and folded his arms over Naruto's bare back, careful of the wounds.

It didn't take long for him to realize—by looking over Naruto's shoulder—that the towel around Naruto's waist was loose and almost undone and more of Naruto than he wished to see on purpose made him choke on his own saliva.

Never before that moment did he ever take the title of 'pervert' to such a...well_...perverted_ view He felt disgusted, dirty….

………And _oh, fuck he was getting hard_.

Before he could do anything, Naruto shifted in his lap and paused. Jiraiya's face went cold and hot at the same time as Naruto pulled back to look him in the eye. His student had the oddest expression on his face; it was neither disgust nor reproachful. On the contrary—the boy actually gave him a hint of a smile, leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Need some 'help', Pervert-Sennin?" he murmured into Jiraiya's ear. Jiraiya shuddered slightly and struggled to swallow down the lump in his throat. "Because it feels like you do." Naruto shifted slightly to emphasize his point.

"Naruto!" Jiraiya's hands shot up to Naruto's shoulders to push him off of his lap. Naruto's expression shot to anger and he grabbed Jiraiya's arms.

"NO!" he yelled, pulling in Jiraiya's shirt sleeves. "Don't you _fucking dare_ do that to me!" He hauled himself up to Jiraiya and grabbed his teacher's head with both his hands. "_I will NOT be left alone! I WONT!_"

Jiraiya lost his balance and pitched forward, barely having time to support himself on his arms and not on Naruto's body. His face was barely an inch from Naruto's, and his breathing once more stuck in his throat.

Naruto still looked angry; tears of hurt brimming at his eyes and his fists tangled in Jiraiya's mane of hair. "Don't," was all he said before he shot forward and engulfed Jiraiya's lips with his own. Jiraiya's arms turned to liquid and his entire body fell on his student's. Naruto deepened the kiss and sneaked his legs from under Jiraiya's and pressed his knees gently but firmly into Jiraiya's waist.

Sense finally knocked itself into Jiraiya's head and he pulled back to gape at Naruto. His student had an almost content and desperate look on his face, and Naruto's hands were kneading his hair. "Naruto…" He didn't know what to say, really, at this point, let alone what to do. Here he was, at some ungodly hour of the night on top of his student, who had more on his mind than just sleeping with someone at his side.

Jiraiya clenched Naruto's bed sheet in his fist and sighed. "Naruto…" he began calmly, trying not to look him in the eye. "…What do you want from me?" Naruto let his arms drop to his sides and also looked to the side, out the window at the stars.

"….I don't want to be alone…" he replied softly. He reached up and gently stroked his fingers along Jiraiya's red streak. "I don't want to be alone, Jiraiya…" Jiraiya blinked at the familiarity, but didn't interrupt. "…I'm always alone…..No one here has time for me….No one here will give me a second look….Even fewer give me even a glance to begin with…"

Naruto stroked Jiraiya's face with his hand. "…From the beginning, you've taken time to teach me something…to better myself no matter how talentless I was…" Tears fell silently down Naruto's face. "…If anything….don't move…stay here with me….like this…"

Jiraiya was silent. He knew these words were wrenched from Naruto's heart, and that the boy didn't want to be left alone unfulfilled. He wordlessly clasped Naruto's hand, removed it from his face, and leaned down to kiss his needy student. Naruto quickly parted his lips and Jiraiya slipped his tongue into his mouth to spar with Naruto's.

Several moments of the heated kiss passed, and Naruto slipped his hands between them to jerk up Jiraiya's top. Jiraiya smacked his hands away, and Naruto didn't have time to protest before Jiraiya sat up and practically ripped off his top vestments, revealing a hard, toned upper body. He threw himself back down to his student's body and attacked Naruto's mouth again.

Naruto lost his hands in Jiraiya's silvery hair as he let himself be ravished by his teacher. Jiraiya's bare skin felt so good against his own—warm and hard and…..safe. Naruto felt safe under Jiraiya's weight; he felt safe under Jiraiya's roaming hands, his soft lips……..

He gasped when Jiraiya unconsciously jerked his hips forward. His head fell back onto his pillow and Jiraiya began to kiss and nip his neck. Naruto cried out and held onto Jiraiya's head tighter. "Don't……stop….!" he gasped, arching up to meet Jiraiya's chest. Jiraiya complied, and reached between them to jerk to towel from around Naruto's waist.

That did it. Naruto let out a feral growl and hauled his body up, knocking Jiraiya onto his back. Naruto strattled his teacher and his fingers fumbled over the hem of Jiraiya's pants. He felt the last piece of patience leave him as his libido took over. "Get them _off_!" he growled at his teacher, who saw Naruto's pupils slit almost dangerously. Jiraiya complied and lifted his hips while pushing them down. Naruto backed up and tore them completely off before leaping back onto Jiraiya and capturing his lips again.

The feeling of Naruto's lithe body slithering against his like a lizard awakened senses in Jiraiya he hadn't felt in years. Despite all his talk, he'd hadn't had sex since he was in his thirties, and he'd never thought his student—let alone another _male_—could have this effect on him. His senses were _alive_ with nothing but Naruto; he could smell the lingering blood from the boy's wounds. He could hear his and Naruto's heartbeat and the sloshing of their tongues against the other's. He could taste the bitter-sweetness of Naruto's mouth. He could see the way the moonlight reflected off of Naruto's hair, almost making it look as silvery as his own. And his sense of touch was going into maximum overdrive as Naruto's curious, nimble hands roamed his chest and sides.

Naruto pulled back, his lips bringing a trail of mixed saliva with him. His eyes held an insatiable lust in them; a plea for conjoined contact. He let his body fall back and his arms held out to Jiraiya like a child. "Please," was all he said.

Jiraiya couldn't—wouldn't—let Naruto lay there, unfulfilled, like that. He wouldn't leave Naruto alone at night as he had been so many times before; wishing and begging to whoever gave a damn up there for someone to be with, someone to hold. He sat up and gently parted Naruto's skinny legs, his rough hands gently trailing along the boy's inner thighs. He smiled at the flush of color that came with the slight twitch of the legs and slowly nestled his body between them.

Naruto let out a whimper and wrapped his arms around Jiraiya's shoulders as Jiraiya began to stroke his hands over Naruto's toned, scarless chest and torso. He let his fingers ghost over Naruto's nipples, reveling in the vocal response of his action. His touches came to a stop at Naruto's navel, where the seal had ceased flickering. He rubbed his hand over it; slowly, back and forth, feeling Naruto squirm from ticklishness. With that to occupy Naruto for the interim, Jiraiya used his other hand to reach further down and gently finger Naruto's opening.

The response was more than Jiraiya could ask for. Naruto arched up jerkily, his fingers digging into Jiraiya's shoulders and his voice letting out a single note of pleasurable ecstasy. He slipped his first two fingers in, making Naruto bite into his fist to keep from screaming. Jiraiya could smell the blood from Naruto's fresh hand wound, and it only turned him on even more. He curled his fingers inward and Naruto's muffled screams were accompanied by a jerk of the hips and a fresh spurt of blood from his hand.

Jiraiya withdrew his fingers and leaned up to take Naruto's hand from his teeth and lick the open wound. Naruto whimpered as Jiraiya's tongue slowly and savoringly dragged over his hand, the tip of his tongue swirling over the wound, creating a stinging—yet erotic—sensation. When Naruto's hand was blood-free, Jiraiya switched to Naruto's bloody lips. His tongue again delved around for any traces of that sweet, red aphrodisiac, and Naruto seemed more than happy to give it.

A few moments later, Jiraiya pulled back and bent Naruto's legs up slightly, making Naruto gasp. "Relax, Naruto," Jiraiya whispered into his student's ear. He softly caressed Naruto's face and gently kissed him. With that distracting him, Jiraiya gently nudged his length against Naruto's opening. Naruto gasped into his mouth, his hands shooting up to grab Jiraiya's shoulders.

"Relax," Jiraiya repeated. He waited until Naruto was sufficiently relaxed before continuing to push in. Naruto whimpered and was borderline hyperventilating; his face flushed and his nails dug into Jiraiya's shoulders, drawing blood. And Jiraiya was never more turned on in his life. He threw his teeth into Naruto's shoulder and snapped his hips forward sharply.

Naruto arched up, his eyes clenched shut and his movement's inhibited by Jiraiya's body. Jiraiya withdrew his teeth and relaxed his own body. His senses were once again at maximum overdrive; he felt something he hadn't felt in decades; in that place he forgot existed, deep in his core.

"Oh, god…" he gasped, his entire body shaking. He collapsed on top of Naruto, trying to focus on easing both their breathing. He reached up and gently caressed Naruto's face with one hand and pushed himself up with the other. "Na -Naruto…" he stuttered, looking at his student with glazed eyes. "…Are you…okay?"

Naruto let out a whimper in reply and nodded, though his eyes were full of tears. Jiraiya gently brushed them away.

"I wont do anything you wont want to, Naruto," he said softly. "But if you want to stop, say so now, because I don't think I will be able to hold on much longer." He almost winced at the desperation in his voice. But Naruto wrapped his trembling arms around Jiraiya's neck and held him there.

"No…" he murmured. "…Don't stop…please…" He nuzzled into Jiraiya's shoulder. Jiraiya gave him a gentle kiss on the temple and pulled back slightly on his elbows. As soon as Naruto was sufficiently relaxed, he pulled out, making Naruto gasp, and thrust back in. Naruto let out a sharp cry and arched back, his fist flying to his mouth again. This time Jiraiya grabbed both wrists and pinned them to either side of Naruto's head.

"No more of that, Naruto," he said roughly, tossing some hair over his shoulder. "I already said I wont let you get hurt anymore tonight." He gave Naruto another thrust. "Even if it means protecting you from yourself." Keeping Naruto's wrists pinned down, he began to rhythmically thrust into Naruto's body, trying to keep control and not hurt him.

Naruto threw his head back and let out cries of pleasure and pain, fresh tears running down his face, but for different reasons. The way Jiraiya's body fit over him made him feel protected; the way his cock filled him made him feel whole—complete. And……..

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed when Jiraiya hit something inside of him that made a delightful—slightly painful—pleasure shoot through every nerve in his body. His body jerked up, and Jiraiya wrapped both arms securely around him, afraid he had accidentally hurt him. But Naruto clutched his sides with his shaking, desperate hands. "Do that…again!" he gasped. Jiraiya obliged and, with Naruto still in his arms, began to thrust again. He apparently hit right, because Naruto began to cry out against his neck again.

Jiraiya's knees bent, making Naruto's own bend up. Naruto wrapped his legs around Jiraiya's waist and forced Jiraiya to go deeper. His teacher hissed with pleasure and began to thrust harder. Naruto's bed was visibly shaking now, and both their cries of passion echoed throughout the room.

Not two minutes later, Naruto suddenly dug his fingernails into Jiraiya's back and tensed up. "JIRAIYAAAAAAA!!!!" he screamed, feeling something inside of him snap and release absolute pleasure from his navel. Jiraiya let out a deep-throated roar and slammed his hips forward, releasing his seed into Naruto's body. He held Naruto almost crushed to his body before falling limp onto him.

Naruto let his eyesight come back to him before sliding back into reality. Jiraiya was struggling for breath, his arms still securely around Naruto. He finally came to and gently slid out of Naruto's body. Naruto whimpered at the loss, but Jiraiya immediately laid on his side and scooped Naruto into his arms again. He kissed Naruto's forehead and ran his fingers through Naruto's hair.

"…Are you okay, Naruto?" he asked softly. Naruto nodded and snuggled into Jiraiya's chest.

"Uh huh," he murmured. "…Thank you…Thank you so much…" He kissed Jiraiya's collarbone and laid his head back down. "…Stay with me…?"

Jiraiya smiled and pulled the blanket over both of them. "Of course," he said. He sighed with contentment and leaned back on Naruto's pillow. He wasn't going anywhere for awhile….

The next day, sunlight streamed through the window, hitting Jiraiya in the face. He grumbled and turned over to escape the fiendish light and paused when he felt a gentle puff of air in his face. He opened his eyes to be met with Naruto's face not three inches from his own. The memory of the night before came right back at him and he sighed.

…..This was not the way he ever thought his relationship with Naruto would ever come to. He never expected to be in bed—let alone having sex—with Naruto. But last night, every feeling Jiraiya had for the boy just seemed to switch over to nothing but concern and possessiveness and…

Jiraiya blinked and thought. What was that last emotion? It was so familiar…something he hadn't felt in so long…

….._Love_…..

He loved Naruto…? Jiraiya looked at Naruto's face and felt his heart pulse strangely. Naruto hummed in his sleep and snuggled into Jiraiya's chest. The pulse in his heart quickened to a flutter and Jiraiya reached his arm to drape it over Naruto's curled form.

Naruto yawned and opened his eyes. He stared at Jiraiya for a moment, blinked, and smiled. "Hi," he said, his eyes locked onto Jiraiya's. Jiraiya smiled back and leaned over to kiss his forehead.

"Hi," he replied. He rubbed his hand up and down Naruto's arm. "You okay?" Naruto nodded and sat up, wincing when a sharp pain ran from the base of his spine upward. Jiraiya sat up as well and put his hand on Naruto's back.

"Okay, not so okay as I thought," he said. Jiraiya rubbed his back and Naruto leaned into him. "Thanks."

"No problem." Jiraiya ruffled his hair affectionately. His eyes settled on the bandage on Naruto's face. "Let's see how that cut is," he said, peeling back the adhesive and bandage. Naruto's cheek was almost healed; there was just a small, almost unnoticeable slit that would be gone by the end of the day. "Well, aside from your backside, you're all better," he said.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and Jiraiya leaned over to nip it. "Pervert!" he cried, but humorously. Jiraiya grinned almost evilly and pounced, knocking Naruto onto his back.

"You bet your cute ass I am," he laughed. He kissed Naruto's lips softly, and Naruto wrapped his arms around his neck. Just as they were getting comfortable, there was a knock at Naruto's door.

Naruto never knew Jiraiya could get up, throw his clothes on, and look halfway presentable in less than five seconds. Jiraiya motioned for Naruto to lie down and he made his way to the door.

"…Ebisu?" Jiraiya blinked at Ebisu's form in the doorway. Ebisu pushed his shades up his nose and looked up at Jiraiya.

"I was sent by Lady Hokage to see if Naruto was here," he said. Jiraiya looked over his shoulder.

"He's here," he said. "Why? He's been here all night." Jiraiya could have sworn he heard Naruto snort into his pillow. He looked back at Ebisu to see the latter's face a bit pale.

"Well…I don't think I need to tell you that several of the shinobi assigned to watch Naruto attacked him last night." Jiraiya's grip on the doorframe tightened, as did his visage. "And without probable cause as well. Lady Hokage has rounded them up and asked that Naruto come up to identify them."

Jiraiya nodded and Ebisu left. He turned to Naruto, who was sitting up, knees to his chest and his arms around them. "Is it true, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked gently. Naruto nodded. "Why didn't you fight back?"

"That's what they wanted," Naruto whimpered, tears falling down his face. "They wanted me to fight back so they could tell Old Lady Hokage that I…" He buried his face into his knees again. Jiraiya rushed over and put both arms around him.

"I know," Jiraiya whispered. "I know." He hugged Naruto closer to him. "Let's go get them back. I'll be right there with you." Naruto nodded and hugged Jiraiya back.

"Yeah," he said.

Naruto picked out all seven of the shinobi who had attacked him, and they were led out—cursing Naruto—for their sentencing. As promised, Jiraiya was there with his hand on Naruto's back the whole time and giving them all a death glare that would make Orochimaru jealous. After they were gone, Tsunade told Naruto that she gave him expressive permission to defend himself—and kill, if necessary—anyone who attacked him like that again. He was still on probation, though.

Jiraiya stepped up and said that he would be Naruto's guardian for the duration of Naruto's probation. Tsunade waved her hand and said she didn't care, and Jiraiya led Naruto out of Tsunade's office. There was silence between the two as they made their way out of the building.

"…Are you okay, Naruto?" Jiraiya finally said, putting his arm around Naruto's shoulders. Naruto took a shuddery breath and nodded.

"I'm okay," he said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself, rather than Jiraiya. As expected, Jiraiya didn't buy it, and he knew what was wrong.

"Alright," he said firmly, making Naruto look up at him, "I may not be able to promise you that no one will try to hurt you again, but…" He paused. "…But, I can promise you this…"

He stopped and stood in front of Naruto, both hands on both of Naruto's shoulders. "If _anyone_ hurts you again, then I'll kill them. I don't care about the extent of the damage—if they _touch_ you with the intent of hurting you, I'll kill them. And…" He paused again, a tear falling down his face. "If anything like this _ever_ happens again, we'll leave here. I'll take you with me and we'll get out of here and never come back—with or without Tsunade's permission. Okay?"

Naruto listened to the promise and proposal, silent tears falling down his face. He nodded and leaned forward to wrap his arms around Jiraiya's body and bury his face in Jiraiya's chest. "Okay," he said. Jiraiya leaned down to kiss the top of Naruto's head and he hugged him back.

"C'mon," he said cheerfully. "Let's get some ramen. I'll buy as much as you want—my treat." Naruto snorted.

"I brought my wallet, just in case," he replied, earning a smacked bottom.

"Brat."

"Pervert."

"SUCH A PURE DISPLAY OF YOUTH!!" cried Guy-Sensei from a small ways away. Lee only cried and nodded in agreement.

**Sorry about that last bit—**_**had **_**to add it.**


End file.
